The Brassiere
June 26, 2009 –
Apparently I have been wearing the wrong bra for, well, most of my adult life. I flew into Bristol the other day after a very wonderful trip away and decided to stay the night and go shopping the next day. Obviously, obviously I found myself lingering in the lingerie (is that why its called lingerie? :) department of House of Fraser when the assistant there asked me what size I was, oh 36dd I replied. She then went scurrying out the back and brought in a pretty bra, ‘Try this on she says, oh go on’. ‘Oh alright then’ I said. Now it did cross my mind as she said ‘you will let me see it wont you?’ Well, you can imgine what crossed my mind, how on earth can I get out of this one, not the bra, the situation, please keep up. So , before you can say ‘Do me up honey’, I am in the bra and she is in with me. Eeek! ‘Oh no, no, no’ she snorts in disgust ‘That is not the size you should be in’ ‘I thought you weren’t a 36, your back is too tiny for that’ and off she goes to bring back….
A 34F!, a 34F for chrissakes! And it fitted like a glove. Two things here, one this means I have to change my stats and secondly, will I never be able to find pretty lingerie without the bra looking like a boulder holder? Oh woe is me! (I think ;)
Otto Titzling
COMMEMORATED IN POPULAR song, trivia, and cautionary tale, the tortuous history of Otto Titzling (a.k.a. Titsling, Titslinger, Titzlinger) – no laughing at the back! – and the invention of the modern brassiere has a lesson to teach us all — though not necessarily the one you might expect.
As the story goes, Otto Titzling, a German immigrant living in New York City circa 1912, was employed at a factory making women’s undergarments when he met an aspiring opera singer named Swanhilda Olafsen. Miss Olafsen, a buxom woman by all accounts, complained to Titzling that the standard corsets in use at the time were not only uncomfortable to wear but failed to provide adequate support where it counted most.
Titzling rose to the challenge. With the help of his trusty assistant, Hans Delving,(is this for real, delving?, delving? purleese!) he set about inventing a new kind of undergarment specifically engineered to meet the needs of the modern woman. The “chest halter“ he designed proved to be a brilliant innovation and a commercial success, but our hero neglected to take out a patent, an oversight that would haunt him for the rest of his days.
Otto Titzling vs. Philippe de Brassiere
Enter the flamboyant, French-born fashion designer Philippe de Brassiere, who began ripping off Otto Titzling’s designs and manufacturing competing products in the early 1930s. Titzling sued de Brassiere for patent infringement. In a court battle lasting four years, the two men fought to prove ownership of the concept, facing off in a climactic courtroom “fashion show” in which live models paraded before the judge wearing prototypes by each designer. In the end Titzling lost the case, not only in the court of law but in the court of public opinion, where de Brassiere, with his knack for self-promotion, managed to cement in the public’s mind a lasting connection between the product and his own name.
In the words of songstress Bette Midler, “The result of this swindle is pointedly clear — do you buy a titsling or do you buy a brassiere?”
Titzling died penniless and unappreciated, we are told.
Oh and no Bristol(s) jokes purlease! x
PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR P. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Mr P, Happy Birthday to YOU !…
